Major update: Canucks Jim Rutherford likes the idea of hiring former Rangers HC Peter Laviolette
Photo credit: NHL.com
So soon after his firing from the New York Rangers, Peter Laviolette is a candidate for a head coaching role elsewhere in the NHL. According to Jim Rutherford, President of Hockey Operations for Vancouver, he's a good candidate.
With the end of the regular season, NHL teams that aren't competing in the playoffs are planning for the draft and free agency.
Sometimes those moves include hiring head coaches, and with the latest firings across the league, Peter Laviolette is searching for a new home in the NHL.
That home could end up being the Vancouver Canucks, whom after Rick Tocchet walked could hire the former Rangers coach.
Laviolette and the Rangers' 2024-2025 season was highly disappointing despite the fact that they won the Presidents' Trophy only a year prior.
Laviolette won a Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes, when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers.
Since then, like other NHL coaches, they've ridden their cup into multiple head coaching positions across the league. A Stanley Cup win that still impresses Jim Rutherford, by the way.
«When you're familiar with someone, you know how they work,» stressed Rutherford. «We had success together and I like him as a person and a coach. It's a good name.»
Despite Laviolette's lack of success with the Rangers this year, 5th in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 39-36-7 and 85 points, he could be the latest retread in the NHL.
For now, like Rick Tocchet, he'll have to hustle for his latest role.
Manny Malhotra who is currently the Head Coach of the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL is also being considered for the NHL Canucks coaching role.
| POLL | ||
MAI 5 | 1366 ANSWERS Major update: Canucks Jim Rutherford likes the idea of hiring former Rangers HC Peter Laviolette Do you think Laviolette will secure a new coaching position before the 2025-26 season starts? | ||
| Yes | 1038 | 76 % |
| No | 328 | 24 % |
| List of polls | ||
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